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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Geologic Controls On 137cs Cycling By Terrestrial Vegetation In The Eastern U.S., Kathleen Chellman
Geologic Controls On 137cs Cycling By Terrestrial Vegetation In The Eastern U.S., Kathleen Chellman
Undergraduate Honors Theses
137Cs is a radioactive trace metal (T1/2 = 30 y) that was dispersed globally by nuclear weapons testing in the 1950s-1960s. Prevailing winds and precipitation systems caused some areas far from the test sites to receive significant fallout, which is still easily measured in soils, sediments and even some vegetation in the Eastern United States. Recent work near Chernobyl and Fukushima indicates that trace levels of 137Cs can harm insects, pollination services, and other ecological functions. In areas with low soil potassium, 137Cs is cycled in vegetation; however, soil potassium alone doesn't consistently predict the 137 …
Developing And Validating A Standard Operating Procedure For Quantitative Analysis Using Central Washington University's X-Ray Diffractometer, Katherine Lucas
Developing And Validating A Standard Operating Procedure For Quantitative Analysis Using Central Washington University's X-Ray Diffractometer, Katherine Lucas
Undergraduate Honors Theses
X-ray diffraction (XRD) is widely applied in a variety of disciplines to identify crystalline solids in a powdered sample. Recent software advances have made quantitative analysis of samples easier and more accessible, but the quality of the result depends on the sample preparation and data collection procedure. This project focuses on testing methods of sample preparation and XRD data collection and analysis to lay the groundwork for refinement of the existing standard operating procedures at CWU. First, I determined the ball mill grinding time necessary to powder different mineral samples. The addition of hand grinding to ball mill-ground samples produced …